Speaker Kadaga outsmarted her detractors

By Tezira Jamwa

THEY were at it again. Unfounded rumours were rife in the corridors of power. Parliament was the epicenter of whispers, gossips and the petitioners had started drafting censure motion against Speaker Rebecca Kadaga for not recalling   Parliament to debate the oil issues. 

One columnist in one of the dailies described the Speaker as spineless and bad for democracy. The Speaker’s learned view, she did not want to rush and make decisions that she would later regret.  

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga is a politician. And as a politician, there are certain skills a manager has to take into consideration before making any decision. One of the skill is mapping the political terrain. The Speaker had to be very careful lest she plunged into a ‘minefield’. 

So while the Speaker was studying the alternatives, her political opponents were having a field day. They all jumped into the fray with excitement and their dirty tricks to try and bring her down. What her opponents did not know was that she was a step ahead of the detractors.

The Speaker did not want to set precedence which would become a future point of reference. She says since the constitution was promulgated, Parliament has never enacted a law to activate Article 95(5). When this article is finally activated, it will become automatic to deal with any legal issues that may pertain to petitions and recall of Parliament. 

She said there were some gaps in the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure that make it difficult to deal with problematic issues for instance, the creation of more committees. She said she has requested the Rules, Privileges and Discipline Committee to work on the amendments in the Rules of Procedure.